Airsoft with the kid... Gear?

[gigag04]

Oldest is wanting to play airsoft with the neighborhood kids in the woods. He got a setup for his bday but I think it would be fun to play w him one on one too.

Used to play on a tourney paintball team but no nothing about this gig.

I think I want an SBR AR type CO2 powered rifle and a G17/19 sized pistol. Don't want to buy garbage or spend a fortune...any recommendations?

[gthaustex]

I haven't played much with airsoft rifles, but I have had pretty good luck with an M&P replica airsoft like the following:

http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/smith-w ... pid-874454

They are around $50 at Academy and have a pretty good replica look/feel of the real thing. Don't forget at least eye protection as well, although I'm sure you already thought of that.

[RKlenka]

Training with airsoft is great. The problem is the training / gaming mentality. Meaning if you go out there and treat your gear as if they are real and you work as if it was real then you will get in some great training. If you treat them as a toy then you will get toy training. Both are fun, just have to make sure you have the right mindset for your goals.

As for gear it will depend on your budget. I treat all my gear as if they where the real steel so i go and get some good heavy duty i.e. expensive stuff because i expect them to reliable and hold up. I'm a fan of KWA mostly because i can call them up and order parts, which is a lot harder on other brands. I mostly use a KWA ATP pistol which runs about $150. Its green gas / propane based with gas blow back. It fits in everything my M&P does so i can use my EDC gear, i run it hard and have had it for years with no unfixable problems (had to replace the mag release once). For my long gun i use a KWA AKU-74 which runs around $400 bucks. Not cheap but its a tank. I have slammed it into the ground many times and it still runs great.

But it sounds like you are more interested in just running around the back yard playing, which is a lot of fun. I have heard good things about the CO2 M&P at academy as another user said. It runs off CO2 instead of green gas / propane and it does not have blow back or much of anything when it comes to the slide. But its said to run well and be reliable. But just like with anything else you will get what you pay for, just make sure you dont forget eye protection (i prefer full face masks myself).